N. Iowa - FIDO & Costanza

[Total Red]

I had a lengthy post about the SDSU game but it was well covered by Madbird and others and it wasn't a pleasant conversation so I deep sixed it. To borrow a phrase from the Denver Johnson era - FIDO (Forget It Drive On) which is sometimes stated more strongly after a particularly difficult loss. So FIDO SDSU.
In fact you can FIDO every week in the MVFC because last week never means anything anyway. Last week Ind St. won at Youngstown, SIU won at Missouri St. and WIU beat N. Iowa. Will that be momentum that any of those teams can carry into this week? Likely not. Unless you're NDSU every game is up for grabs and last week was last week.

So what's in store for Illinois State this week? Hard to say, I don't even know which QB will start but it sounds like Kolbe. I'm not sure it will make much difference. I think they're both about the same. Whoever starts will need to look for rushing opportunites. Davis had a nice 3-yard TD run against Eastern. I thought we'd be seeing more of that but it hasn't happened. I know Coach Spack wants to be an 11 on 11 rushing offense and we need to be. Maybe Kolbe can do it. He's shown some moves.

We need to start rushing the opposing punter too. I know roughing the punter calls are killers but opposing punters are leisurely kicking the ball due to token pressure giving their cover team time to get downfield. Meanwhile our punter has to kick quickly and opponents are returning them. We can't concede that advantage. Keep training punt rushers on how to block a kick without roughing.

I still hope to be right about this team over the full season but I find it impossible to predict what will happen in any single game. There's nothing to do but take the George Costanza opposite approach. When everything you do is wrong then you need to start doing the opposite of what your instinct tells you to do. My instinct tells me that N. Iowa is very tough to beat in the UNI-Dome. Therefore I'm going with the Redbirds.

Redbirds 21
Garage Dwellers 17

 

[fourthandshort]

so the F was for "Forgot" ?? I had a completely different F word in mind, but same basic meaning ...so we'll just stay with yours.

We're still square in this playoff hunt, even if we lose a close one to UNI. But we would have to win the final 2 games decisively in order to have the resume needed for a 6-4 team to become a viable bubble team .. at best.

So let's just beat UNI.

At this point, I would think Spack/Beathard would go with Kolbe since it sounds like Davis is still hurting. A full week of reps with the 1's will go a long way towards getting Kolbe in sync with his receivers and help spread out that UNI defense for our run game.

As for the game, it should be a dog fight .. unless we have no pass game .. then they will pull away and win by couple TDs. I'm worried because Spack said we have lost 6 DBs since summer. And their QB is big and slow, but can sling it .. so our front 7 will need to put lot of pressure on him.

I still have faith in my Redbirds and coaches to bounce back. But all in all, this is more likely a close loss than a win .. if we show some passing game.

Will put on my fan hat, and pick our Redbirds to win 28-24.

 

[Chi-bird]

I had this down as the 2nd toughest game for us this year and still don’t feel good about our chances. It will take a great defensive effort to come out of there with a W. If we win this game, I think we might just run the table.

 

[Total Red]

This game could hinge on lots of things but this stat line from the WIU/UNI game caught my eye. These are the numbers for UNI's big senior QB last week.

UNI - Passing
Player Dunne, Eli
Cmp 22
Att. 33
Yds. 218
TD 1
INT 2
Long 30
Sack 4


Dunne is very good and he might complete 2/3 of his passes but that's ok. Don't get beat deep. Nothing over 30 yards. That's #1. #2 is for the defense to come up with some wins. Four sacks and 2 INT's works.
We need to get pressure on Dunne and create some discomfort and we may need the occasional blitz. It would be nice to have Edwards off the edge but I'm not expecting him. Clark and Matthews are good options. If you flush Dunne out of the pocket and make him throw on the run that helps but it's even better to get him on the ground and finish the play right there. Clark and Matthews are better finishers.
Get Dunne done and we win.

 

[cpacmel]

Illinois State +2.5
Over / under 41.5

 

[chuckie1980]

Redbirds 35
NorthernIA 14

 

[cpacmel]

Find a Way

 

[fourthandshort]

Dunn is traditional pocket QB .. big immobile and can throw it. If we're going to win today, it will have to be because we make him move his feet. He lit up NDSU paasing with 360 yards, 3 TDs, and just 1 pick. But then struggled against WIU defense .. same as we did. One advantage our DL has his our height and size .. we are by far the tallest DL group in MVFC, and possibly the biggest .. so that could offset Dunne at 6'5" 238 lbs in a way he is not used to ... our guys need to get penetration to collaspe pocket and get their arms up to disrupt short pass game.

Defensively .. their run defense is very stout as usual. So we will need some help from pass game today to spread them out and open things up inside. They're 3rd in run and 8th in pass .. need to spread them out and keep their back 7 honest. You can bet they studied our SDSU and WIU games to death on dealing with Robinson. We need to counter that early with short pass game and QB keepers.

If we make Dunne move, and keep their pass defense honest, we can certainly win this game. We'll see if Davis is healthy nough to start and go from there .. but we need to be effective throwing it today.

 

[ISUBU]

One hour to game time and I'm doing some fall cleanup outside, only to hear the ISU Alma Mater played by a church carrilon a few blocks away. I'm taking this as a good sign!

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Redbirds 35
NorthernIA 14

That is a serious beatdown...what insider information do you have on everyone? That would be a great outcome but I almost feel the score could be completely reversed. Hope that gut feeling I have is wrong.

 

[crazzymark]

pathetic 1st drive

 

[crazzymark]

worse 2nd position....long day...

 

[cubird]

Offensive line is getting a beat down.

 

[SoCalRedbird]

Sheesh. I think our offensive line missed the flight to Cedar Falls. They're getting worked.

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[ekeyfanclub]

At the basketball game right now, please tell me we haven't been running the jumbo package over and over again.

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[RBFANTOO]

Offensive line is getting a beat down.

:text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1:

 

[Redbirds100]

Intercept pick 6 done watching this S show!!!